


Sisterhood of the Shrieking Books

by Im_Chamsae



Series: Fantastic Beasts and Where NOT to find them (Stephanie Brown Edition) [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Book Club, Jason Todd Being a Little Shit, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd loves Literature, Magical Book Club, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd Friendship, Stephanie Brown goes to Hogwarts AU, Stephanie Brown is a Witch, Stephanie Brown's magical adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24777472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Chamsae/pseuds/Im_Chamsae
Summary: Jason Todd joins a magical book club.Or, in which Jason Todd takes great pleasure in replacing each book in Wayne Manor with a shrieking book about Christian Sermons.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Original Character(s), Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown & Original Character(s)
Series: Fantastic Beasts and Where NOT to find them (Stephanie Brown Edition) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1787296
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	Sisterhood of the Shrieking Books

**Author's Note:**

> A side-story to ‘Hocus Pocus’, takes place in an alternate universe where Stephanie Brown graduated from Hogwarts and is now Gotham’s resident Magizoologist.
> 
> I do recommend that you read, 'Hocus Pocus', first as some of the things mentioned in this story reference certain events of 'Gotham Adventures'.

Jason Peter Todd had been in the middle of reading his copy of a book from the Enchanted Encounters series when his phone had rung. After glancing briefly at the caller ID, and deciding that it was not one he could ignore, he picked it up. 

“Yeah, blondie?”

 _“Hey Hood,”_ replied Stephanie Brown from the other side. Just from hearing her tone, he already knew that she wanted something from him. Glancing back at the inky black words across his page, he could take a pretty good guess what it was about. _“I was just wondering if you could help me by summarising this week’s book, for tomorrow’s book club session?”_

He called it.

“You didn’t even try to read the book, did you?” stated Jason, plainly.

_“Hey, I would have read it but I had no time! There was an illegally smuggled Lethifold running loose in Gotham and murdering people in their sleep. Cut me some slack, Hood. Do you know how hard it is to even track them in the first place?”_

‘Ah,’ he had heard about that from Tim.

The younger male had taken it upon himself to investigate a string of murdered people, all whom had been suffocated and eaten (quite literally) in their beds. It had been such a puzzle for him because virtually no evidence of breaking and entering could ever be found at each scene, something that had the Bats stumped. It had left them without a lead.

And from what he had heard, replacement himself had come very close to joining that growing list of silent victims if Stephanie hadn’t stepped in time and saved his ass. As luck would have it, it turns out that she had been tracking the creature too after seeing the news, and putting the pieces together. She had saved replacement’s life, he guessed that was a pretty validated reason enough for not reading this fine piece of literature.

Sighing to himself, he gave in. “Alright, I’ll tell you.” Said Jason, as he looked back down at the very book at hand. “But only this once.” 

_“Yes!”_ exclaimed the blonde, happily. _“I owe you, Hood.”_

Jason rolled his blue eyes, “why did you even join this book club if you don’t like reading in the first place?”

Stephanie snorted, _“please, did you think I joined by my own free will?”_ He could hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice. _“It was one of the conditions Bron made me agree to so that she would overlook my excessive use of magic.”_ She told him. _“So, what genre is this series anyway?”_ He could hear some rustling from her side of the line.

He wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first time that she actually opened the book.

“Romance. Now sit down and listen well, I’m only going to summarise this once.”

* * *

If one was to ask Jason what he did on his Thursdays evenings, they would never believe him when he told them that he spent it at book club.

The mere thought of the feared Red Hood sitting on a tiny wooden stool, in a circle and engagingly discussing the romantic qualities of Fifi LaFolle’s Enchanted Encounters series would be incomprehensible to all that knew of his violent reputation in Gotham – yet, here he was. Sitting unmasked on his wooden stool in Obliviator Willborough’s living room, calmly sipping chamomile tea from his red book club mug that said, ‘I put the Lit in Literature’.

Jason Todd loved his weekly Thursday book club meetings.

Sure, it had been a little bit awkward at first, being the only muggle in attendance amongst a group of witches and wizards. Many who were initially wary of him because the man had literally shown up after an afternoon patrol, masked and armed. It hadn’t exactly helped his case that he may or may not had gotten some blood on his brown leather jacket, but nothing too big of a deal. To be fair, he had some opinions on some of their attires himself, but he politely chose not to comment. Magic was a dangerous game, and he did not need to be turned into a bird like Robin had been.

First impressions aside, the moment it had been his turn to open up and discuss about his opinions from reading ‘ _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ ’, all previous reservations that his fellow wizarding members had about him as a muggle were instantly melted away. He had easily fit in, and gotten himself his very own book club mug.

As he took in the warm sip of tea, Jason sighed peacefully to himself, ‘I love Thursdays.’

“And that concludes today’s meeting,” said Bronte, as she held up the new book for all members to see. “Does everyone have a copy?” She asked as the pile of books floated about, around the circle, pausing in front of each member before moving to the next. Jason took his copy. “Good, alright then. I guess this is the end of today’s session. Thank you very much for coming, the next session will be held at Mrs. Potts’ cottage next week.”

At that, the witches and wizards around him started to get up from their chairs, all which varied depending on their personal preferences. From beside him, Stephanie let out a yawn before standing up to stretch out her arm and legs, “oh thank god. It’s finally over.” Exclaimed the blonde, gratefully.

“Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you again next week then, Jason.” Said Mr. Blotts, a slightly older gentleman who had taken to be the young vigilante’s sitting partner over time. It was nice being his seating neighbour. With his English accent and welcoming presence, the older man had immediately reminded Jason of Alfred. It was nostalgic. “Take care now, don’t get into too much trouble.” He patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

Jason grinned back at him, “Yeah, you too, old man.” With a wave, he watched as the man approached the sole fireplace in the living room.

That was another thing that amused him about this book club – they all seemed to enter and leave through the fireplace. He understood that it was probably one of the most effective ways to travel, after all, most of the members didn’t even live on this continent but still, it didn’t make it any less amusing for him to see each time. He was only glad that Stephanie’s preferred method of travel most of the time is apparition, or via her flying purple Mini Cooper car which normally only came out when she had to give him a lift to book club meetings outside of Gotham, which was often.

As he was about to leave, a certain book on the nearby bookshelf caught his eye.

It was leather-bound, there was a sort of decorative broken chain attached to the front of the cover yet its spine remained untitled. Curious, he picked it from its place, testing the weight of the book on his hands for a moment before staring at its front cover. He raised a brow. He’s seen plenty of books in his time but never one like this.

‘I’ve never seen this book before.’ He opened it.

He had not been prepared for what instantly came next.

Blue eyes widened in shock as the pages morphed into a horrifically scared face as it let out a piercing, bloodcurdling scream at him.

Immediately, Stephanie ran over from where she had been and smacked the book shut, letting out a sigh of relief before she placed the book back onto its place in the bookshelf. They could still hear it scream but the volume was more bearable now as it slowly began to die down. “Damn, I hate those books.” She muttered beneath her breath.

He was still stunned, “what the fuck was that?”

“Shrieking book.” Replied the blonde, before glancing over to Bronte. “I can’t believe you have a copy of that.”

Bronte smirked; she didn’t seem sorry in the slightest. “Now what good book enthusiast would I be if I didn’t have one.” She told them before looking to Jason, “they’re quite harmless though. They just shriek Christian sermons at you; used to be very popular back in the day, not so much anymore.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes, “Well, I can see why not. They can give people heart attacks if they don’t know what to expect.” She picked up her mug of tea. “There’s a reason they were kept in the restricted section at Hogwarts.”

* * *

The next time Jason had heard the mention of shrieking books, it had been only two weeks later when Mr. Blotts had come in a little later than usual during their weekly book club meeting. Call it a hunch, but from the look on the older man’s face, he could tell something was amiss with his friend.

“What’s the matter, old man? Business not going alright?” questioned Jason, curiously.

The older gentleman sighed, “Well something like that.” Admitted Mr. Blotts, tiredly. “It’s just that we’ve got some stock of books that just aren’t very popular, and it hasn’t been selling well.” He told him. “They’re just currently a waste of space right now and I’d love to just get rid of them.”

Free books? That piqued his interest a little bit. “Well, what kind of books are they?”

“Shrieking books.” Answered the older man, wincing slightly as he spoke.

Jason’s mind instantly went back to two weeks ago when he had first encountered one, “ah.” He could understand why they weren’t doing so well.

“And it’s not just me,” said Mr. Blotts. “Other bookstore owners are all encountering the same problem, we just have too many shrieking books. We just need to get rid of them first before we could replace them.”

‘Replace them,’ it was at that moment, an idea planted itself in Jason’s mind. He smirked before turning to Mr. Blotts, “Hey, you could give them to me.” He offered.

At that Stephanie coughed, nearly choking on her tea. The blonde had been listening in for a while to their conversation, and it wasn’t exactly eavesdropping when they were literally sitting right next to her. But needless to say, this was interesting development.

“You’re into Christian sermons?” asked Stephanie, almost disbelievingly.

“No, but I’m a little curious to see how different they are compared to the ones over here.” Responded Jason, smoothly.

She raised a brow, “do you even have space to keep all of these extra books?” asked the blonde, with a questioning look. She had only been over to his place once, and that had been when he it had been his turn to host their weekly book club meeting. Needless to say, Bronte had to temporarily place an undetectable extension charm on his living room to fit them all in, and even then, she was sure that it had been reversed before they left.

Jason smirked to himself, the older male rocked back on his wooden stool before grinning to himself. “Oh, I can think of one.”

* * *

He didn’t drop by Wayne Manor very much anymore, but he did make it a point to come by every so often for Alfred’s sake and whenever he did, he always preferred when it was only Alfred at home. Sometimes it worked out, others, it didn’t.

“Ah, Master Jason, it’s been so lovely of you to drop more often now.” Greeted Alfred, warmly. A smile graced his aged features as he looked over the younger man.

“Aww, it’s nothing, Alfred. I’m sure you could use some company being all alone in the manor by yourself.” Said Jason, smiling at him. Among all the people who lived here, Alfred had and will always be his favourite.

The aged butler chuckled to himself, “Why yes, I do suppose it has been relatively quieter since Master Damian has embarked on his self-claimed apprenticeship.”

Ah, the apprenticeship.

When he had first heard about how the little demon had managed to get Stephanie to agree to take him on as her apprentice, he nearly laughed. He was probably the most passive about the news compared to the rest. Bruce had not been pleased at all, and that was exactly why he welcomed it so much more. Dick had started to worry his wits out that the kid would get hurt or worse, eaten. At that, Jason had to roll his eyes. Please, he seriously doubted that the little demon would even get hurt.

He knew Stephanie. She was a professional that prided herself in her work, there was no way she’d let the kid get hurt, she was too careful to let it happen. Look at the Lethifold case for example. She had made the executive decision to look into the case by herself, alone, keeping Robin uninvolved and out of harms way. She knew where to draw the line when it came to the little demon’s involvements with magical beasts and creatures, but it still didn’t calm anyone’s nerves down. And the fact that the idea still had the Bats squirming just made him approve of it so much more.

“Shall I prepare some tea, Master Jason?”

Jason nodded, “Yeah, I’m going to drop by the library first, Alfred.” He told him. “I want to return some of the books that I’ve borrowed last time.”

That was another reason for visiting, he needed access to the library.

“Of course, Master Jason. I shall be in the kitchen then.”

“Thanks, Alfred.”

* * *

Damian Wayne felt exhausted.

After a week of spending his nights chasing after a rare horned serpent along the coast of San Francisco, he was ready to finally relax and spend the rest of his evening off with a good book. Settling himself in the Wayne Manor library, he immediately noted that some of the books had been changed, or rather… replaced.

‘How peculiar.’ He did not recall hearing anything about this from his father nor Pennyworth.

As he picked one up, his curiosity was only further piqued by the blankness of the cover. The black and silver volume in his hand was old, like most vintage leathered bound first editions, although it was strange. He could have sworn that he had never ever seen this book before in the library, and he would know, he’s read most of them. Opening the book, his green eyes flew wide as the yellow pages morphed into a face before it shrieked at him.

He promptly slammed the book shut but he could still hear the screaming.

He blinked, before he stared back down at the book in his hand before looking back up at the rest of the books on the shelves. ‘No.’ He felt the blood drain from his face.

They were all identical.

Not a single book in the Wayne Manor library shelf had a title engraved on its spine and were almost all exactly leathered bound in the same manner as the very copy that he held in his hand.

His teeth gritted together as he scowled darkly, he could think of only one person who would think and was capable of doing this.

“Todd.”

* * *

**Epilogue**

Her finger pushed down at the nuzzle of metal can in her hands, her blue eyes narrowed as her hands moved with quick and accurate precision.

“ _’Call the Red Hood if you wanna have a good time: XXX-XXX-XXX.’_ ” Read Bronte, an amused smile on her lips as the young woman stood off to the aside. “And what exactly has Jason done to you to illicit such a punishment like this?” She asked, extending a helping hand as her blonde friend quickly pulled herself off the train tracks.

Bronte held out her hot cup of tea, Stephanie gratefully took it. “He replaced all the books in Wayne Manor’s library with a shrieking book.” She told her, plainly. “Because of that I’ve had to deal with an incredibly irritable Robin all week.” In her other hand, she shook the can of red spray paint.

Bronte chuckled beneath her breath; she should have expected much from Jason. “Oh dear.” She didn’t look sorry though. “Do you have to paint all the trains though?”

Stephanie nodded, firmly. “Yep, if he can make my life a living hell for a week, I’m sure as hell going return the favour. Besides, I’m sure he’ll survive a few booty calls.”

At that, her friend simply smiled.

“Perhaps he would appreciate your little gesture.”

He had not.

When Jason had woken up the next morning, he did not appreciate the hashtag: ‘ **RedHoodWantsABootyCall** ’ trending on social media for the next following weeks to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone remember that hilarious comic panel where the words, ‘Call the Red Hood for a good time’, or something along those lines were sprayed on the back of a train cart?


End file.
